Through the Night Sky
by Miss Hightower
Summary: What approached me from the cavern above was not what I had been expecting. In my mind I had built up an image of a more impressive human, one with wise features and a strong build. Who else could handle such matters as were charged to the great Merlin?


**A/N/Warning**: In anticipation of tomorrow's episode, this is a Dragon point of view. It is based on everything up until episode 2:12 and what I've read about 2:13. Therefore it includes content and possible spoilers for up until the end of 2:12, and if you haven't read anything about tomorrow's episode be warned. I don't think there's anything too major, but I just want to be safe.

**Disclaimer**: Although I may speculate about what exactly they're thinking, I do not own BBC Merlin or any of their characters.

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_Through the Night Sky_

It has been so dark here, and for so long. It is not hard for a dragon to wait while the busy lives of men fill in the time between one Change and the next. It is easy to slip into memories of long ago when the Great Ballads were sung to the egg, or the Prophesies were told to the earth-bound dragonlet. The dreams of Sky and Freedom are taught to each dragon in the Great Cavern, especially for when they must wait. These things have sustained me in this cold and bleak cage.

But the reason I was chained has stayed in the forefront and even now it remains there. It all comes down to a petty king who committed an act of great wrong in order to further his own hold on people and country. And to cover up that great wrong he waged war on Magic, the Double-edged Sword. The very thing that had helped him gain his advantage had taken from him and could take further. He feared this power that was ever greater than his own.

And so I felt as one by one the great Northern Dragons were slaughtered. I was younger then, and felt that they fought when they should have hid. I hid and that is why I am here now. They could find no more dragons, and as a sign of his defeat over the great Magic Creatures, Uther bound me in iron threaded and forged with a sorceress's spells, chains I could not break.

And that is where I have stayed for twenty human years. I've had my share of visitors, and it's been many more than I would have had if I had stayed in my Hold in the White Mountains. Some faces have come and gone without warning and some have stayed whether welcome or not.

Uther was once a fairly common companion although not for any reasons that were enjoyable. He was not curious, did not want advice and I occasionally wondered if my assumptions about his character were flawed. Although he came on the pretext of taunting me he came too often for it to be the only reason. I was a puzzle for him I think, one he would not admit to wanting to solve. In my anger at being captured I would not talk. But slowly his baits turned into snide questions that held more behind them than he would admit. I'll never truly know if he listened to what I had to say in the end, but I'd like to think that he did.

Gaius on the other hand was full of curiosity. Knowing that his thoughts would influence the King, I guided his ideas until the day he announced I had betrayed him. It was a common accusation heard from human mouths, but it is a matter of opinion as to who was betrayed. He was the one who was here against the wishes of the king, who asked for help when he shouldn't have, and who wondered about the magic that was forbidden to him. I know that he only ever questioned and theorized and probed even though he could have practiced and experienced. In that way he was completely loyal to Uther.

I know such things because of the Magic within me. It binds me to those who hold it as well. I can feel the castle above me like a giant weight, full of movement and life. Even when I sleep I am annoyed by the tiny pinpricks of bronze light that move about on the edges of my senses. Gaius is one such pinprick that has grown dimmer over these years. Occasionally there are brighter lights and at some point along the way a silver moon was added to the starry sky. It grows brighter in the night and I've learned that it belongs to the King's ward herself, although I've never met the Witch.

Much more recently a greater development occurred and it was enough to blind me in my unprepared state. I felt it immediately when something carrying the full strength of the sun entered Camelot, and I still find myself unconsciously tracking it as it moves here and there about the castle. I knew it was important when I first felt all of that concentrated Magic, and it took some thinking before I remembered the Prophesy of the King, whose reign would bring freedom and peace to humans and Magic Creatures alike. His life would be like a burning comet through the night sky, and the fire would come from The Great Warlock, a mage who held in his hands a great deal of the Old Magic to aid in the path Arthur would have to take. I had it; Arthur and Merlin, sea and sky.

It made sense that he would be here now since there had been so much destruction of those with Magic; I figured it needed to balance itself out, which resulted in a high concentration within a single being. There was a certain excitement within me, since the arrival of this being had been talked about among the Dragons whenever a time of peril had come about. And now that there was only one Northern Dragon remaining along with a spattering of the Ancient races, he had come.

I called out to the light when it finally rested on that first night. An alliance to such a warlock could mean leverage over the future king and the ways of Magic itself. It could even mean freedom sooner than anticipated. What eventually approached me from the cavern above was not what I had been expecting though. In my mind I had built up an image of a more impressive human, one with wise features and a strong build. Who else could handle such matters as were charged to the long awaited Merlin?

I berated myself for not having anticipated the tiny creature that stood in the torchlight. It was the way of the gods to choose the underdogs to commit great acts, and so it was now. I clung to a stone outcrop above the castle entrance so that I would have the advantage of seeing him before he saw me. In my frustration at myself I could not help but swoop down menacingly and mention his size with my first breath.

Of course the gods continued to taunt me. He was completely unaware of what was expected of him and what he must do. In fact he implied that he would gladly dispose of the future king right then. It was his petty human nature that was getting in the way, and I was disappointed at how this seemed to be going. In fact I continue to be, for it seems not much has changed.

It become clear to me on that first night that Merlin would need much guidance before this was through. I had thought constant affirmation that this was in fact the right thing to be doing would keep him on track. This is an inescapable destiny for the young boy, and I have spent many nights since then pondering on how exactly Merlin was cementing his ties with the future king and the future of Albion.

Somewhere along the line though, something changed between us. On my part I had been doing what I deemed necessary to increase his power, and therefore Arthur's. When the Priestess from the Isle came to the castle not long after Merlin, she sought me out. Although I never saw her face, I confirmed her suspicions as to who Merlin was. I thought she could teach him power, and in the long run I was right. I felt her death as I felt each and every slow and agonizing death of those who contained the Old Religion.

I warned him too about both Mordred and Morgana. I firmly believe that he and Arthur are encased in their destinies, but on the off chance that Merlin could break through that barrier, I told him. This also ensured that when it backfired, I could lay the weight on his shoulders. He made the decision; he knew but allowed his human weakness get in the way. It was a lesson I was hoping he would learn quickly. He has not though.

I did not realize that the first time that I could not help the young warlock would have such an impact. He should have been stronger and wiser and taken it with stride and acceptance. But he stopped coming to me and he withdrew his trust instead. Things changed then, and I knew I could not rectify the situation. When he finally announced that I would not see him again, a great amount of anger welled up in my chest and settled itself around my heart.

I was the one who was chained, yet all I had done was help. He could not expect me to not want freedom and not work toward that. He could not see how things were, how there were certain sacrifices that had to be made by everyone in order to achieve a peaceful future. I wanted him to know exactly how important Arthur was, more important than the likes of his mother. But if she was the person that the Magic chose to try and take, the person It made him fight for, then clearly she meant more to him than I thought reasonable.

It was the moment he came crawling back to me that I knew I had to go as soon as possible. He was relying far too much on me, and this could not be so. I could not stand to be here, and I did everything I could to make him promise me my freedom. For awhile I trusted in the very aspects of his human nature that gnawed at me. He would do it because he thought it wrong to chain anything, wrong to force Magic into confines. I figured he of all people must know what this was like. But he seemed reluctant, and it annoyed me further that I had estimated wrong yet again. And so I made him swear, and he swore by his mother so that I knew he would keep his word.

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It agitates me as I cling to the highest rock I can reach. I fidget and scrape for I know in my heart that my freedom will come at last. It is so near that I think I can feel the wind under my wings, flowing through my nose and mouth with the taste of sun and stars. All of the dreams of Sky and Freedom that have kept me through the long nights will finally become reality.

There are many possible outcomes for when I am free, and there are many things I wish to accomplish. Merlin seems to sense what some of these might be, but it does not matter. I will not cause Camelot to fall, and I will not kill Prince Arthur. I could not, even if I tried, for the Prophesy is too strong. No, what I have planned revolves around Uther.

Uther has claimed my name and defeat for his own, and my image resides in his halls and on his shields. But it seems he has forgotten me. It has been years since I have heard his unmistakable stride down the stone tunnel, since he has felt my breath on his face. I want him to know what he has done and what exactly he had captured.

This seems the best time to do so. Trouble has been building, stirring around and around to get thicker. Once I had hoped that I could be a part of the final product, but Merlin has damaged that beyond repair. The young prince would not understand, and is more likely to listen to Merlin's distrustful words.

This is not how I imagined it would turn out. It is heart wrenching, and I am so tired now. I will give Emrys one last gift all the same. I can not decide if that is my choice or not. When I am free, I will attack the castle and eventually Uther. But whether I succeed or not, there is a question of what will happen afterward. If it is how I hope, Uther's own stupidity will be his undoing.

There are only two things that are capable of stopping me: Merlin and a Dragonlord. Merlin does not know this, and even if he did I do not know if he has the strength of will to do it. The Dragonlords though have been eradicated by Uther. If one does remain, he is the one that will lead Merlin to new knowledge of himself. Either way, it will be a great test for Merlin.

Yes, I will make my mark when I am freed. Camelot will know what was done all those years ago; she will remember what has been forgotten. I can only hope that I will push events into place that will open the doors to freedom for those of the Old Religion. This time I will fight. I have thought about it over and over again, and I will do what I should have done from the start. I will fight Uther and all that he stands for. I will show his son what he is truly made of.

What I am doing is right.


End file.
